Reflection Of Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 explores a futuristic world in which books have been outlawed, and people have become somewhat of drones. Though, there are a few exceptions. One exception in particular is an old man named Faber. Faber is a lover of literature who remembers a time before the banning of books. He is a very insightful character with much knowledge about the world. He shows this worldliness when he speaks of the reasons his society turned out the way it did. Faber claimed that three things were missing from their society (79). Though, these three elements seem to be disappearing from the modern world as well, thus, ultimately leading today down the same path Bradbury predicted. The first missing element: Quality (79). In today’s world, literature is slimmed to the ‘need to know’. New versions of classics such as Romeo and Juliet are coming out every year with a new modern translation, and –while they may be easier to understand for some –the literary beauty is lost. The newer versions tell the tragic love story of two adolescence, but miss the substance that lies within Shakespeare’s words. Bradbury put it beautifully as “flowers living off of

The third of the three needs is obviously not going to become prevalent if the first two are being taken away. In order for people to change, they need to think, and in order to think, people need something to think about. People are not free to think their own thoughts. Most humans are more likely to conform than to stray from the crowd since it is easier than fabricating their own beliefs and ideas. Even if someone was to try to break away from the orthodoxy, it is becoming increasingly more difficult as thought provoking authors and books are being withheld from the public. In order to re-gain the third need in modern society, the first two needs must first be given back to